"Setting up a flash wasn't even an option," Kevin Shank told The Huffington Post. "With the bird being so unique and rare, we didn't want to do anything that might encourage it to disappear."

Located just 30 miles from the Shank family home, they first heard about the bird on an email list-serve for the bird community, Shank explained. After they got permission, they drove over to the residence where the bird was first spotted and began shooting photos.

Check out the breathtaking images of this unique albino-ruby throated hummingbird below.

Albino Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

Albino Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

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Albino Ruby-Throated Hummingbird

While taking his turn at one of the family cameras, nine-year-old Allen Shank captured this shot of an albino ruby-throated hummingbird. The Shanks were at a home in Staunton, Virginia on August 16, 2011, when Allen captured this photo. The camera Allen was using was a Canon 7D camera with a Canon EF 400mm f/2.8 L IS lens. To see more great pictures of the hummingbird visit Nature Friend Magazine.

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Allen Shank, Nature Friend Magazine

CORRECTION: A previous version of the article incorrectly stated 330 hummingbird species exist in North America. In fact, 330 hummingbird species exist worldwide. The error has been corrected.